Button-fastener.



PATENTED MAY 26, 1908.

I No. 889,133.

T. R. HYDE, JR. BUTTON PASTENER. APPLICATION FILED OUT 12, 1906 11:;name): Px as co., wu'umarau. a m

THEOPHILUS R. HYDE, .IR., OF

WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO SCOVILL MAN UFACTURING COMPANY, OFWATERBURY, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CON-- NECTICUT.

BUTTON FASTENER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 26, 1908.

Application filed October 12, 1906. Serial No. 338,674.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, THEOPHILUS R. HYDE, J r., a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Waterbury, in the county of New Haven and State ofConnecticut, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inButton- Fasteners, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

It is customary to attach buttons to wearing apparel that is laundered,by means of toggles or rings or other fasteners which can be detachedfrom the buttons so as to release the buttons from the garment. Thesetoggles or rings when so detached are easily misplaced and lost. Sometoggles have been devised which when attached to the buttons may beslipped through the buttonhole or eyelet without detaching and thusdanger of misplacing and loss is avoided.

The present invention relates to the latter class of such devices, andit consists of a button fastener having a straight limb and a loopedlimb, made of spring metal, with the tension so adjusted that the twolimbs normally approach each other so as to occupy the closed positionof use, and the looped limb has its free end curved so as to overlap thestraight limb and close it against the escape of the button and enablethe user to turn the fastener from the crosswise position of use to anendwise position, whereby the button eye with its attached fastener maybe drawn out through the buttonhole or eyelet without detaching thefastener from the button, thus avoiding misplacing and the loss of thefastener.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating the invention, in the severalfigures of which like parts are similarly designated, Figure 1 is a sideelevation of a button and its fastener in position for insertion into orwithdrawal from a buttonhole or eyelet. Fig. 2 is a side elevation ofthe button and its fastener in position of use when applied to agarment, the last not shown. Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of thefastener. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a fastener without the coiledspring-end.

The button 1, as usual with this class of devices, has a metal or wireeye 2, to be passed through a buttonhole or eyelet in a garment, thebutton head resting upon the outside of the garment and the eyeextending through to the inner side.

The fastener 3 has a straight limb 4 and an overlying limb 5 providedwith a loop 6 about midway of its length; these two limbs beingconnected integrally by a coil 7 and the looped limb preferablydeflected laterally for a greater or less portion of its length, so asto extend substantially parallel with the straight limb. The free end 8of this limb is curved downwardly toward the straight limb and extendsrearwardly, so as to overlap the side of the straight limb and thusclose the opening between these two limbs in a locking engagement; Thecoil, however, may be omitted, as shown in Fig. l, and a simple bend 9take its place. In both constructions, the tension of the spring is setso as normally to cause the two limbs to approach one another and tohold the ends of said two limbs in spring contact, and so that they haveto be forcibly separated laterally in order to permit engagement withand disengagement from the button eye.

As already explained and as sufficiently shown in the drawings, thefastener once applied to the button, need not be detached in order toapply the button to or remove it from a garment, and it may be readilymoved from the position of Fig. 1 to that of Fig. 2 and vice versa withlittle or no trouble. Moreover, both ends of the fastener being rounded,all tendency of the fastener to catch in or tear the clothing next towhich it comes in use is avoided.

The bends in the looped limb. are so proportioned with relation to thestraight limb as to prevent the accidental escape of the button eye fromthe loop, and, as already indicated, the spring is set to normallyretain the limbs in this relation.

What I claim is 2- A button fastener of the class which is adapted to beslipped through the buttonhole lengthwise without detaching from thebutton in order to secure or remove the button, comprising a straightlimb and an overlying looped limb made of spring metal with the springtension adjusted to cause the tWo button when the button is engaged insaid limbs normally to approach one another and curved end. 10 occupythe closed position, the looped limb In testimony whereof I havehereunto set having its free end curved downwardly to my hand this 12thday of October A. D. 1906. Ward the straight limb and extended rear-THEOPHILUS R. HYDE, JR. Wardly so as to overlap the straight limbWitnesses:

laterally so that the straight limb closes said M. H. FINOKEL,

curved end against accidental escape of the LILLIE M. PERRY.

